I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game
chapter-60

There was nothing special about the abandoned hospital or the Ga-5060 secret research facility.

Of course, one might argue that evidence of human experimentation and artificial dimensional species was significant, but these paled in comparison to what was hidden in the basement.

While other artifacts could somehow be restored and replicated by other corporations, the items in the basement were one of a kind.

Although there were double or triple layers of security, honestly, the fact that the task of recapturing such a place was entrusted to an external fixer was enough to make one suspect that there was some kind of conspiracy.

Therefore, it was understandable that questions about the basement would be posed to me and to Ko Gyeong-soo of the Wild Guns, who had somehow gained access to the secret research facility.

But why is Cure, not Helistic, asking these questions?

Cure Biotech is a multinational bio company that is conducting research similar to Helistic. In terms of scale, Cure Biotech is larger.

Cure Biotech was the pioneer in the first place. But Helistic, which adopted the technology of extraterrestrial beings, grew at an incredible rate, and even though it was a latecomer, it became so large that it could easily contend with Cure Biotech.

In the game, Helistic generally played a much more significant role than Cure. The depiction of Cure in the game was mediocre at best. There were hardly any notable NPCs associated with Cure, and the quests related to them were nothing special.

“I just cleared out what I could see and left. I didn’t come across any basement.”

There was no need to discuss the basement with Ko Gyeong-soo.

“Well, what does it matter? Sometimes, when those who have no stake in the matter start snooping around, unexpected and dangerous situations can arise… Take care of yourself.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ko Gyeong-soo briefly lifted his glass, only to set it down with a hint of disappointment upon realizing it was empty.

“Well, now that I’ve seen all there is to see, I should be on my way.”

He rose from his seat with a grunt.

The gold watch on Ko Gyeong-soo’s wrist made a loud clanging sound as it collided with the gold bracelets.

“And mage friend. You said your name was Kim Shin-hwa, right? Keep my business card safe and give me a call whenever you think of it… Whether it’s just to share a man-to-man bond or if you’re passing by our office and feeling hungry, perhaps for a meal…”

Ko Gyeong-soo attempted to make his offer once more but changed his tune upon hearing Tudor’s growling.

Then he left the cafe, saying something along the lines of, “If I stay here any longer, the Tudors will beat me to death.”

“It was merely a business partnership visit.”

Tudor clarified the reason behind Ko Gyeong-soo’s visit.

“Despite his abrupt departure and manner of speaking, he was essentially saying they’re short-staffed and could use a mage’s help when the situation arises.”

“I see.”

Though it might seem off from Tudor’s explanation, this was precisely why I chose Tudor over Ko Gyeong-soo.

Tudor had extensive connections with other brokers, not just in Paju but in other cities as well, where her influence was significant.

While not frequent, opportunities to take on unique quests from other brokers through Tudor did present themselves.

The terms and fees might differ from dealing directly with the brokers, but such differences were manageable.

“Well, whether Ko Gyeong-soo asks or not, if it’s not the right fit for you, I’ll block it on my end.”

Tudor assured me and led me to her office.

As soon as I sat down in the office, I posed a question to Tudor.

“Did Helistic give you any trouble?”

In reality, since the money could be transferred directly to my account, there was no actual need to visit Vasilisa.

The reason for my visit to Vasilisa today was out of curiosity about how Helistic’s aftermath was handled.

“Indeed, there was a bit of a fuss with Helistic coming around while you were away.”

“Was there any particular issue?”

“There were a few inquiries, but I managed to settle most of them on my own. A lot of the responses I gave were made on your behalf, though…”

“On my behalf?”

“Well, I gave you a smartphone, but you never picked it up!”

Tudor raised her voice for a moment, not in anger but with a playful tone.

“What to do? We just conducted a virtual interview with our Mr. Kim Shin-hwa. But Helistic was satisfied after all so the reality doesn’t matter.”

“There was a reason I couldn’t respond.”

I had simply been sleeping, but there was no need to say that.

“Hmm, well, whatever.”

Tudor said this as she pulled out a file folder.

“If you’re curious about what I answered to Helistic’s questions, take a look at this.”

The file folder in Tudor’s hand floated up and flew towards me.

It seemed she had prepared this in advance, anticipating that I might ask such a question.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Pleased with my sincere gratitude, Tudor responded with a very elegant smile.

Occasionally, Tudor would flash such a stunning expression that it left me speechless.

Perhaps some of the guests at Vasilisa frequented the café day in and day out just to catch a glimpse of that smile, even if just once.

As I looked through the documents, I realized that there was no mention of the basement in Helistic.

It’s a highly secure matter.

If you want to keep something secret, it’s best not to talk about it at all.

Instead, what caught my eye was the repeated mention of the computer in the director’s office of the research lab.

“It seems like it was treated as a solo mission?”

The records were documented as if Kim Shin-hwa, that is me, had responded and not Tudor.

The emphasis she placed on “on my behalf” earlier must have meant something along these lines.

Thanks to this, Helistic could be under the impression that I am exceptionally polite, kind, and efficient in handling affairs.

“In reality, the content was based on what I heard from Collie.”

“But why use my name instead of Curtain Call?”

“Oh? Is that a problem?”

“Not really. Just curious.”

“Didn’t I tell you I’d be leveraging your name for business? You need to become more famous.”

“Since I’ve left the method to you, I can’t really complain.”

“Moreover, Collie has a somewhat ambiguous relationship with Helistic… actually, it’s at the level of being blacklisted. We’ve been accepting requests from Helistic under an alias.”

“If it weren’t for me, Curtain Call wouldn’t have been involved in this at all.”

“Hehe, that’s right. But I think you satisfied your curiosity.”

Was this a win-win situation? If one were to twist the perspective, it could be said that Tudor had been played. Nevertheless, Tudor spoke plainly. She wasn’t saying it was all fine, but she had no complaints. After all, it was a relationship where both parties used each other to a reasonable extent. As long as no lines were crossed, she had no intention of making it an issue.

“Right. I guess there’s nothing more to say about this.”

And it seemed there was no need to read the documents any further.

Even if I had responded to those inquiries myself, I would have likely replied with some fabricated truth, so having someone else handle it was indeed a relief.

In fact, what had been documented was much more sophisticated and perfect than what I had in mind.

“What’s this about ‘Cure’?”

“It’s exactly what Ko Gyeong-soo mentioned. They didn’t say it outright, but they were curious if there were any basements or secret rooms in the abandoned hospital.”

“Was the basement ever public information?”

If there were rumors going around that there was a basement there contrary to Helistic’s belief, that would be understandable.

“No. ‘Cure’ was the first to mention the basement.”

Tudor’s expression became contemplative for a moment before he continued.

“Lately, ‘Cure’ has been unusually quick on the uptake. It seems they might have secured some sharp source of information, doesn’t it?”

A source of information… There was nothing of the sort in the game. Could this be another deviation from the game’s original storyline?

“It’s even more puzzling that Ko Gyeong-soo was asked such a question.”

“Puzzling?”

“Yes. The Wild Guns had no survivors, remember? It doesn’t make sense for them to ask questions that only someone in the know could answer unless they’re fools, which they are not.”

“Maybe they’re not curious about the basement itself… Perhaps they want to spread the rumor that they know something about it?”

Tudor nodded her head in agreement.

“That’s what I believe.”

Contained within were mechanical devices and grimoires that modern technology couldn’t replicate.

Moreover, Helistic’s researchers had conducted experiments using the bodily fluids from the [Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young] which induced madness and created dimensional species with the power to traverse between dimensions.

Which could it be? Was “Cure” interested in the super-scientific devices, the Black Goat, human modification, dimensional species, or the grimoires?

One might typically assume that as a competitor, Cure would be most interested in the information on human modification that Helistic had pioneered…

But… that seems too simplistic an approach.

It appeared that the need to decipher the contents of the grimoire had just increased.

“Now, I have nothing more to convey. I might have ended up passing on Wild Guns’ wink on their behalf had you arrived later… but thankfully, that wasn’t necessary.”

“Are you close with Ko Gyeong-soo?”

Tudor let out an exasperated sound. They seemed to be quite close.

Such personal relationships were not something one could ascertain in the game, making this revelation rather interesting.

“I helped him get settled when he was younger. Ko Gyeong-soo was a diligent child, eager to please, so I took a liking to him. But even after he became independent, he kept hovering around, which was quite bothersome.”

I knew she was quite old because she was a witch, but it felt slightly strange to hear her talk this way with her young appearance.

Ko Gyeong-soo was in his early forties. If Tudor had been helping him since he was a child, just how old could she be?

“I see.”

“Now, let’s move on to the matter of settling accounts, shall we? As previously discussed, the total comes to 120 million. Curtain Call took 50 million, leaving 70 million. Any objections?”

“No objections to the 70 million.”

“Shall I transfer it to your account as usual?”

“Mhmm.”

The balance in my account totaled 180 million.

With this, my savings reached 250 million, and if I included the cash piled up in my room, it would roughly amount to 300 million.

I’ve never earned this much in my original world…

“Keep in mind that I stopped Helistic from trying to lower the price.”

“Was there such a story?”

“It’s always like that when it comes to corporate requests. But you’re all set if you just trust me. It’s not for nothing that I’m called a capable broker.”

I casually acknowledged Tudor’s self-praise.

“Right. I’ll be counting on you in the future as well.”

“Good. Speaking of which, how’s your condition? I’m hoping you can start taking on work again soon.”

“How soon are we talking?”

“Hehe… could you start right away if I said ‘immediately’?”

“You don’t seem to be in such a hurry to say that.”

“Ah, you’re quick to catch on.”

“If it were urgent, you wouldn’t be wasting time with Ko Gyeong-soo.”

“Well, that’s true. Here, take a look at this, my dear. These are all tasks with some leeway in their schedules, so feel free to choose at your leisure.”

Tudor slowly pulled out a thin file and extended it towards me after making her statement.

When I glanced at the file, I saw a concise summary of the quests listed one by one on one or two pages. The organized documents in the file seemed to total around 100 pages. Even if we estimate generously that there was one quest every two pages, that still amounted to 50 quests.

“The content seems quite substantial, doesn’t it?”

“This only goes to show that there are many tasks out there that cannot be resolved unless by a mage of your caliber.”

“Hmm.”

At a glance, none of the requests appeared to be simple.

These were requests that had accumulated over days and months and remained unresolved. Just like the last time we visited the abandoned hospital on Gamaksan, there were consecutive instances where other fixers or mercenary groups had rushed in and been completely wiped out.

“It seems they are all challenging tasks.”

“Of course, the compensation for such requests is substantial. The page you’re looking at right now, for instance, guarantees over a billion if you can settle it cleanly.”

“That sounds interesting.”

“Umm…”

Suddenly, Tudor emitted a noise resembling a groan and hesitated before speaking.

“My dear, perhaps it’s time we got a bit more honest with each other, don’t you think?”